HAIR’S WHAT I THINK or Fifty Shades of Fun

My waiting area has four very comfortable chairs. They are black leather barrel chairs that swivel. Every morning I position those swivel chairs to create a semi-circle, as though I were expecting a book club. Then we begin our day.

It’s rather comical how the chairs are re-positioned all day long. They go back and forth, from a group conversation, to a twosome facing each other, to an isolated chair- turned away from the rest. I wish had one of those time-lapsed cameras, pointed right at the waiting area. It would be hilarious to watch the level of interaction continually shifting throughout the day.

I’m sure it’s been the same, in every waiting area, since the beginning of time. But the thing that has changed is the hand-held devices. Whether it’s a Kindle, iPhone or iPad, everyone’s face is pointed down. This doesn’t mean they’re not interacting – they just aren’t looking at each other to do it. For instance:

Someone mentions George Clooney’s engagement. Three people, simultaneously, Google the event. The conversation begins. Pictures are passed around. A YouTube video is displayed. People are definitely engaged in the same conversation, it just doesn’t look the same. Part of me thinks it might be even easier, to join in, when you’ve brought your hand-held companion into the group. “Look! This is what my iPhone says.”

It took me some time to get the hang of it, but now, I interact like this all of the time. I find it unbearable that someone in the Cloud/Cyber world knows the answers to the questions that we used to just wonder about. “Where did George Clooney propose?” “Did he give her a ring?” “Do they have a date set?” These are the things we used to find out about ‘all in good time.’ But now, we must know – as quickly as possible.

Last night, a group of us went out to dinner and then took in the hysterical comedy FIFTY SHADES – THE MUSICAL. Dinner was a flurry of Facebook postings and check-ins. Everyone took a minute to make sure we had friended each other and gotten contact information. I grabbed my iPhone and found the picture of a bottle of wine, from the last time I had eaten at that restaurant (thank God I had taken a picture of it! Heaven forbid I have to find another delicious choice!).

At the show I, quickly, Googled the actor who was portraying Christian Gray (and just now Googled to see if Gray is spelled Gray or Grey). I passed my phone around, to point out the YouTube entry, which showed that the actor had been on American Idol. Oooh! Two minutes into the show and I know something else about Christian!!! Could I have enjoyed this performance, as much, if I hadn’t known this extra little tid-bit? We’ll never know.

The ride home, from FIFTY SHADES, was a mixture of laughter, stories and checking each other’s Facebook posts. How would we know what to do without our phones! Although, using the MapQuest App to make our way out of the city of New Bedford, still didn’t keep us from taking an unintentional detour through a part of town that would have caused Christian Gray to beat Anastasia Steele if he had ever found out she had risked her life by driving through it (sorry – still in my FIFTY SHADES mode).

So, HAIR’S WHAT I THINK: Interacting is interacting. Let’s not have so many rules about it. Back in the day, family time meant shutting off the TV. Now it means enjoying a movie together. Everything changes. As long as we are still having meaningful moments, with the people we care about, it’s okay that we talk by text. Remember a time when we didn’t see or communicate with our children/parents/husband/wife from the moment they left in the morning, until they came home at the end of the day? I like this better.

Salon tip of the day: Make your own tinted sunscreen! Mix your favorite liquid makeup with a good quality sunscreen, designed to be used on your face. It will keep you protected and create a sheer coverage of makeup. No one likes to look too “made up” out in the bright sunshine!

We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or fill out this form.

Blog Author

Kathy Aspden

I am a lifelong Cape Codder - a true Millbilly. I've been writing for as
long as I can remember. My work includes short stories, feature length screenplays, and short scripts - one of which, "The First of the Month," was filmed and chosen as an ... Read Full